Gavin puts Corvette back on top in GT at Sebring International Raceway's opening day with three practice sessions as the teams prepare for qualifying tomorrow for the 12 hour race on Saturday.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 14, 2013) – For the third time in three Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida practice sessions on Thursday, Audi Sport Team Joest found its way to the top of the time charts in night practice.

Treluyer – who co-drives with Marcel Fassler and Oliver Jarvis – logged a best time of 1:46.686 (126.202 mph). Third overall and in the P1 category was Lucas Luhr in the Honda-powered No. 6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing HPD ARX-03c. Luhr was slightly more than eight tenths of a second off the lead at 1:47.483 (125.266 mph) in the car he shares with Klaus Graf and Romain Dumas.

The top time in P2 went to Ryan Briscoe in the No. 551 Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b with a lap of 1:52.138 (120.066 mph). Briscoe’s co-drivers are Marino Franchitti and Scott Tucker, who is also entered to co-drive the team’s No. 552 HPD ARX-03b with IndyCar drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay and Simon Pagenaud. Hunter-Reay owned the second-fastest P2 time of night practice at 1:52.735 (119.431 mph). David Brabham was third in P2 at 1:53.133 (119.010 mph) in the No. 01 HPD ARX-03b for Extreme Speed Motorsports. Brabham’s ESM teammates are Scott Sharp and Guy Cosmo.

A close GT battle saw the top four cars covered by less than half a second, with defending ALMS GT champion Oliver Gavin leading the way in the No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1. Gavin’s best lap was a 2:00.282 (111.937 mph) in the machine he is sharing with Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook.

Jordan Taylor was second in class in the No. 3 Corvette at 2:00.406 (111.822 mph) he will co-drive on Saturday with Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia. Third in GT went to Olivier Beretta in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia at 2:00.736 (111.516 mph). Beretta’s co-drivers are Italian countrymen Gianmaria Bruni and Matteo Malucelli.

David Ostella paced the Prototype Challenge presented by Continental Tire with a lap of 1:55.662 (116.408 mph) in the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA FLM09 he shares with David Cheng and Mike Guasch. Pierre Kaffer was second in PC aboard the No. 81 DragonSpeed Mishumotors entry at 1:56.467 (115.604 mph), followed by Colin Braun in the No. 05 CORE autosport machine at 1:56.656 (115.416 mph). Kaffer’s No. 81 co-drivers are Micro Schultis and Patrick Simon, while Braun is sharing the No. 05 with Jonathan Bennett and Mark Wilkins.